From Greek: para allelois beside one another. Lines are parallel if they lie in the same plane, and are the same distance apart over their entire length. Try this Drag any orange dot at the points P or Q. As the line PQ moves, the line RS will remain parallel to it. Parallel lines remain the same distance apart over their entire length.
It is important to know whether the cancer has got into the lymph glands because they are one of the main mechanisms by which the cancer can spread to other parts of the body. As long as the spread is just to the lymph glands near to the colon then this would indicate Stage 3 cancer.
As lymph fluid leaves the breast and eventually goes back into the bloodstream, the lymph nodes try to catch and trap cancer cells before they reach other parts of the body. Having cancer cells in the lymph nodes under your arm suggests an increased risk of the cancer spreading. When lymph nodes are free, or clear, of cancer, the test results are negative. If lymph nodes have some cancer cells in them, they are called positive.